Organized labor has been on the march lately. Last year, more than 120,000 workers took part in 23 “major” work stoppages, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics – those are strikes or lockouts that involve at least a thousand workers.

The number of stoppages and workers involved have been rising since the pandemic began.

Cornell University looked at last year’s labor actions and found strikes and lockouts rose around 50%.

Most were in education, health care and food service. Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations Dean Alex Colvin said the tight labor market is emboldening workers.

“They have some more bargaining power, the labor market is strong, they feel they can use the strike weapon to get gains they think they deserve,” Colvin said.

Some workers are striking to improve the services they provide, said Jennifer Sherer at the Economic Policy Institute.

When K-through-12 teachers in Columbus, Ohio, went on strike, “one of their demands was that the district invest equally across the school system upgrading facilities that were really affecting students’ learning conditions,” Sherer said.

Elsewhere, graduate teaching assistants are pressing for fewer students to supervise, and nurses — fewer patients to care for on each shift.